#justiceOPportunity Thursday: April 23, 2020

Sr. Judy Lu McDonnell, OPMs. Lyn Kirkconnell

It’s #justiceOPportunity Thursday, and we are still celebrating Earth Day. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day (April 22, 2020) and the 5 Year Anniversary of Laudato Sì —and particularly during this coronavirus pandemic affecting our interconnections with Mother Earth—we are exploring lifestyle changes by taking the “Mercy Earth Challenge”. The Challenge begins with Earth Day leading up through the fifth anniversary of the publication of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. Each week features a quote from the encyclical, a spiritual resource, an educational resource, and some action. They then build on this foundation with more lifestyle focuses on the rest of the year.

“Every effort to protect and improve our world entails profound changes in ‘lifestyles, models of production and consumption, and the established structures of power which today govern societies.’” [Laudato Sì #5]

We hope you might take this time to pray, study, and act for a renewed commitment to integral ecology and a sustainable future for our planet. In this incredible moment of global vulnerability and solidarity during this pandemic, let’s come together for the Earth and for each other.